Dark Petals, Pureblood Thorns
by SailorSilvanesti
Summary: ""Bellatrix, you know this… us… we can never be if we stay here… come away with me. Escape… let us go somewhere we can be free…" he pleaded, eyes suddenly piercing, grip firm upon her soft, pale hands, but not overly tight or demanding… the grip of a sinking man holding onto the last thing keeping him afloat in this world…" Written for Fanfiction Challenge. AU. Freedom is a Lie.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the associated characters...**

For a Fanfiction Competition on FaceBook.

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**Theme: _Escape_**

**Time Limit: _1 hour/60 minutes_**

**Chosen Pairing of those Listed: _Sirius/Bellatrix_**

**It's AU, so do not throw out plot holes at me... I wrote this in an hour.**

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**Dark Petals, Pureblood Thorns**

**~)0(~**

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Heavy, sonorous breathing could be heard throughout the gloomy room like an internal thunderstorm. Lying upon the silky sheets of darkest green, her eyes were wide open and staring intently at the black coverings of her large, ornate four poster bed -a ridiculous extravagance on a teenager, as her father would say, but who was there to question her mother?- in pure adrenaline-filled excitement.

A tingle of fear coursed through her body, curling in the pit of her stomach like a writhing creature, as she thought on her mother… so close by, and so disapproving of her choices…

That woman ruled with an iron fist… one stained with the blood of those who disobeyed or failed to submit to the 'right' way of thinking; the _Pureblood Way_, all else was inconsequential. Shifting one hand so it trailed across the soft, wrinkled surface of the silk sheets, Bellatrix allowed it to glide up the deep black nightdress she wore to tangle in the irrepressible mess that was her hair. Small curls wound themselves about her fingers invitingly, and she nearly laughed aloud at the idea that this was her greatest comfort, the only embrace she knew was that of her own hair and-…well… that would be telling, …but she managed to stifle the urge successfully, not wanting to awaken her mother or father, who slept in the Master bedroom down the hall.

Their hearing was akin to that of foxes, their eyesight rivalled a hawk's and the misery they inflicted on those who would not concede to their rulings… experienced all the joy and excitement associated with a plague house in Medieval London. To say they were strict and delighted in quashing joy within their offspring, was to say that Nifflers had a '_bit of an obsession'_with finding things…

Nor did she wish to awaken Narcissa, her beautiful, cold, almost porcelain-like sister who slept in the room directly across the expansive hall from her own… A rare individual with the charming personality of a Basilisk in a Staring Competition when woken late at night… With a silent giggle, Bellatrix realised she almost felt sorry for the poor fool her parents had arranged Narcissa's engagement with, some fellow named '_Lucius Malfoy'_ or other… he would not know what he was in for, this was certain. Though, she conceded privately, he had one nice backside…

Her heart trembled a moment as a faint, gentle scratch came at the window… like the gentle rasp of claws on glass, and she rolled over to face the moon that peered in through the open curtains of her bed… Only to find the majority of the lunar spectacle obliterated by a large, shaggy silhouette upon the window sill from the outside, causing a large beam to fairly split her face from ear to ear as the dark creature used it's nose to nudge the outer latch and slide inside the room. It paused only briefly to cock it's head, with singular ear raised, and listen to the steady sound of snoring, mumbling and gentle breaths from the house's other occupants.

Not quite knowing what to do with herself, Bellatrix leapt from her bed as fast as her sixteen year old body would allow, pouncing on the half-formed fusion of man and shaggy black dog, as her secret lover shifted from animagus form. It was another little secret they had kept from the rest of the family…

His clothes were dark, black leather she could see… he was always a tad theatrical… rebellious, her parents had called it… cancelling plans to betroth the two upon sighting the teenager. Which had made his parents furious, setting the two factions of family apart in great feud for many years… it was almost blasphemous for either of them to look at one another, much less talk, touch, hold and kiss as they had…

Those of lesser blood-status could not understand, when two purebloods loved one another, family ties were both all-powerful and important, whilst simultaneously meaningless… Cousins. The two were cousins, this fact could not be ignored by those outside the private mansions and hallways of the Pureblood family establishments… but to them, it was nothing. It was preserving the family line… the pureblood line… it was everything to them.

"_Oh my dark rose, I have missed you so…"_ he whispered hotly in her ear, warm breath tickling her neck as it blew strands of curly hair in all directions… one of his hands slipped down to clasp her hand, the other to draw her close. She breathed in his smell, deeply masculine, leather, the scent of motor oil from that infernal bike of his and… yes, the faint essence of wet dog… Oh how she loved it and yearned for it when he was not there by her side…

"_Sirius_…" she breathed, gazing deep into his eyes, stepping back to draw him to the bed… and frowning when he tugged on her arms instead, his gaze heavy and sad. "Bellatrix, we cannot keep doing this… if we stay here we will never be free, never survive under the weight of their many expectations…" Sirius looked away, dark locks obscuring his gaze as he collected himself. She reached up tenderly to brush them aside, "All hope is not yet lost, my pretty one… times ahead will come when the families of Black and Lestrange reunite again… through our union, my dark puppy. Our love…" her eyes beheld this glorious future, held it up with reverence to him… he saw it all reflected in her eyes. The hope he was so desperate to keep alive…

"Bellatrix, you know this… us… we can never be if we stay here… come away with me. Escape… let us go somewhere we can be free…" he pleaded, eyes suddenly piercing, grip firm upon her soft, pale hands, but not overly tight or demanding… the grip of a sinking man holding onto the last thing keeping him afloat in this world…

Her eyes searched his, the mouth parted to speak… she wanted so desperately to say what was in her heart, but the voice that fell from her trembling lips seemed alien, foreign... not her own and distant. "No. I cannot go, Sirius… you know this… I cannot leave my family and you have an obligation to yours…" she heard herself say, the inner child was thrashing, berating her to say she was wrong, that they would go now… run away-… but that was not how Pureblood families worked. Loyalty above all else was prized… she must stay, do as she was bid…

The expression on the other teen's face was one of anguish, the hope lighting his eyes died and she could almost feel his heart fall in despair, so close were they twined… his arms wrapped about her one last time. They were firm, his arms, strong… there had been no doubt her life could be placed in them without fear… but now, all they seemed to be saying was… '_Goodbye_'…

The last time…

His embrace died away, the touch speaking more than words ever could… and Sirius moved away, looking her dead in the eyes… they both knew this was the end, they would never see each other again as carefree lovers… that part of them was now cut off and lying bleeding on the floor between them…

Bellatrix was still, like a statue made of sadness, as she watched him slide out the window… giving one last, long glance before slipping out of her life forever…

Her heart turned cold… there was no pain, no hurt… just a numb sensation that spread from the now-empty hole in her chest to each extremity in turn… He was gone.

He was… gone. Forever.

And on that day, in the bleak future where the Dark Lord ruled and she was his Queen, it could be asked… when she raised her wand at him, made eye contact for the final time… did she regret her choice? Or was it when her spell threw Sirius through the veil, to a place she could not follow, when her screaming was louder than Potter's that she realised…

…that everything good inside her had died, and all hope of escape from her self-made prison… was gone…?

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**~*The End*~**

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**Written in an hour, not my greatest work... please be kind when Reviewing.**

**~*SailorSilvanesti/Phoenix fire*~**


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